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V 

Ziva  Crkva 


Two  Churches  in  one  Nation 


Written   by 


Rev.  N.  Velmirovich  D.  D. 


NEW  YORK 


/    v^ 


TWO  CHURCHES  IN  ONE  NATION 


ALf\oV'r> 


LOVE  AND  REASON 

"Love  first  and  then  logic",  says  Dostoiewsky.  "First  we 
understand,  and  then  we  can  love",  is  the  watchword  of  ancient 
paganism. 

The  first  of  these  watchwords  leads  to  Christian  humility 
and  to  general  good ;  the  second  to  worldly  pride  and  general  evil. 

Five  years  ago  I  wrote  in  the  "Guardian"  upon  the  reunion 
of  the  Churches.  The  underlying  idea  of  my  article  was  the 
above  ment^jned  quotation  from  the  great  Russian  thinker  and 
poet.  I  subsequently  read  the  controversy  between  Charles 
Kingsley  and  Cardinal  NewTuan,  —  the  controversy  on  soul  and 
logic.  —  and  I  became  still  more  confirmed  in  my  belief  that 
love,  and  not  lo^ic,  must  play  the  leading  part  in  the  reunion  of 
the  Churches.  In  other  words,  let  us  be  united  first  in  practical 
matters,  in  our  daily,  useful  dealings  with  society  and  humanity, 
](^t  us  more  frequently  join  hands  in  the  charitable  work  in  which 
we  both  share;  for  this  will  lead  us  to  tolerance,  and  tolerance 
in  its  turn  will  build  the  bridge  towards  the  finding  of  a  common 
logical  ground. 

To  day  J  see  with  pleasure  the  Roman  Catholic  and  English 
churches  in  England  working  together  in  the  same  grand  patriotic 
and  national  cause,  united  by  the  same  inspiration,  the  same 
desire  and  The  same  prayers. 

The  dogma  that  divides  them  lies  three  hundred  years  behind 
them,  but  the  love  that  unites  them  in  the  same  labours  is  with 
them  now.  And  I  see  with  joy,  how  the  representatives  of  both 
these  Churches  in  England  are  united  in  sympathy  and  love 
towards  ravaged  Belgium,  and  sorely-stricken  Serbia.  The  Bishop 
of  London  is  President  of  the  Serbian  Relief  Fund,  Cardinal 
Bourne  has  permitted  lectures  on  behalf  of  the  Serbians  to  be 
given  in  Westminster  Cathedral,  and  himself  honoured  these 
lectures  by  his  presence.     Divided  in  dogma,  these  two  great 

—  3  — 


2IVA    CRKVA 


Christian  churches  are  nevertheless  united  in  work.  Considering 
all  this,  I  to-day  insist  more  strongly  on  my  thesis,  that  all 
Christian  Churches  have  sufficient  logical  ground  in  common, 
on  which  they  may  range  themselves  side  by  side  in  the  same 
work,  the  same  mission,  and  the  same  charity.  The  differences 
in  their  points  of  view  concerning  transcendental  formulae, 
unrealisable  in  life,  can  reasonably  take  a  second  place. 

A  proof  of  the  above  may  be  seen  in  the  life  of  a  whole 
nation  throughout  several  centuries.  I  mean  the  Jugoslavs,  — 
Serbians,  Croats  and  Slovenes,  —  who  are  one  and  the  same  nation 
in  language,  in  blood,  in  destiny,  and  im  their  aspirations,  and  who 
to-day  as  one  man  desire  to  shake  off  the  Austro-Hungarian 
yoke,  and  to  build  up  a  single  undivided  state  with  free  Serbia 
and  Montenegro.  The  proof  alluded  to  consists  in  this,  that  in 
the  gr'^'at  national  struggle  for  national  union  and  freedom  which 
Serbia  has  naw  waged  for  a  hundred  years,  her  people  have  risen 
superior  to  all  divergencies  of  creed  between  Orthodox  and 
Catholic  Church,  and  nave  held  fast  only  to  that  which  unites, 
not  to  that  which  divides  in  religion. 

II 

ST.  SAVA'S  ORTHODOXY 

That  the  Orthodox  Church  is  the  best  spiritual  medium  of 
the  national  ideal,  is  known  throughout  the  world.  The  Serbian 
Orthodox  Church  has  been  this  throughout  the  history  of  Serbia, 
from  the  days  of  St.  Sava,  her  founder  and  organiser.  St.  Sava, 
the  son  of  King  Nemanja,  —  the  most  famous  of  the  Serbian 
kings  and  founder  of  the  Serbian  State,  succeeded  in  setting  the 
seal  of  Orthodoxy  for  centuries  to  come  upon  this  same  State.  If 
^  the  father  endowed  the  Serbian  State  with  a  body,  the  son  gave 
■  it  a  soul.  And  later  on,  when  the  body  of  the  Serbian  State  was 
destroyed  by  the  Turkish  invasion,  the  soul  lived  on  through  the 
centuries,  and  suffered,  and  nothing  remained  unconquered  in 
this  soul  but  her  faith,  and  the  tradition  of  the  freedom  of  the 

—  4  — 


TWO  CHURCHES  IN  ONE  NATION 


past,  "ihe  monasteries  were  centres  of  trust  and  hope.  The  priests 

were  the  guides  of  the  people,  upholding  and  comforting  them. 

The  Patriarchs  of  Ypek  were  in  truth  patriarchs  of  the  people, 

and  like  the  patriarchs  of  old,  true  representatives  of  the  people 

and  their  protectors.    When  the  tyranny  of  the  Turks  and  Ar- 

nauts  overstepped  all  bounds  in  Old  Serbia,  and  the  nation  was 

in  danger  of  being  exterminated,  the  Patriarch  Arsenje  Carno- 

jevich  transferred  thirty-six  thousand  Serbian  families  acrosss 

the  Save  into  Srem  and  Slavonia.    Catholic  countries  were  son- 

sidered  brother-lands  in  which  these  exiles  could  find  shelter. 

In  the  eyes  of  the  people  both  Orthodoxy  and  Catholicism  were 

iPubordinate  to  the  one  name  —  Christianity,  and  contrasted  as 

one  to  cruel  and  bloodthirsty  Islam. 

*     *     * 

In  1804.  on  the  eve  of  the  Serbian  Revolt  against  Turkey, 
priests  were  present  of  the  secret  gathering  in  Orashatz,  and 
the  leadership  of  the  Rising  was  offered  to  one  of  them,  Prota 
Atharasije,  and  when  he  refused,  it  was  offered  to  Karageorge, 
Both  before  and  during  the  Rising,,  the  Church  suffered  great 
hardshi(ps.  Many  priests  were  impaled  near  Stambulkapia  in 
Belgrade,  among  them  Iguman  Paissi,  and  his  deacon  Avacum. 
In  18)5,  at  the  beginning  of  the  second  Rising,  another  Iguman, 
Melentije  in  Takovo,  blessed  Prince  Milos,  encouraged  him,  and 
accompanied  him  in  battle.  And  when  the  Serbian  forces  gave 
way  before  the  Turks  at  Ljubitz  this  same  Melentije,  himself 
seized  the  drum  and  restored  the  courage  of  the  soldiers.  From 
this  he  was  called  "the  Drummer",  and  this  nickname  clung  to 
him  ever  afterwards,  even  when  he  became  Metropolitan  of 
Serbia. 

Ill 

CATHOLIC  CLERGY  AND  SOUTHSLAVDOM 

It  is  less  well-known  that  the  Catholic  clergy  in  Jugoslavia 
has  also  proved  itself  both  nationalistic  and  patriotic,  but  it  is 
nevertheless  an  historical  fact.    In  the  struggle  with  the  Turks 

—  5  — 


2IVA     CRKVA 


the  Catholic  clergy  followed  in  the  steps  of  their  Orthodox  broth- 
ers, and  on  countless  occasions  sacrificed  themselves  for  the 
nation.  Several  Ban-Bishops  of  Zagi'eb  organized  the  defence  of 
Croatia  against  the  Turks;  many  Roman  Catholic  priests  in  Croa- 
tia, sword  m  hand,  defended  their  country  against  the  enemy,  such 
as  (in  the  16th  century)  the  Canons  Tiirak  and  Fintic,  and  (in 
17th  century)  Frater  Like  Imbrasinovic  in  Slovenia  and  Father 
Marko  iMesie  in  Lika,  and  there  were  Franciscan  monks  who 
languished  in  Venecian  dungeons,  because  they  dared  to  defend 
their  country.  It  is  still  less  known  that  through  the  whole  of 
last  century  both  Churches,  the  Orthodox  as  well  as  the  Catholic, 
carried  on  an  active  propaganda  for  Jugoslav  freedom  and  union, 
but  this  also  is  a  fact. 

In  the  18th  century  the  consciousness  of  the  identity  of  the 
Southern  Slav  nations  began  to  awake,  whether  under  Turkish, 
Hungarian,  German  or  Italian  rule.  A  Catholic  priest  from  the 
Dalmatian  isles,  Dum  Andreas  Kacic,  composed  poems  in  imita- 
tion of  the  Serbian  national  poetry.  Dositej  Obradovic,  an  Ortho- 
dox monk,  after  acquiring  a  wider  culture  in  his  travels  through 
all  Europe,  including  Great  Britain  began  to  write  in  the  popular 
tongue.  Lukian  Mushitzky,  an  Orthodox  Bishop  was  also  devoted 
to  the  Serbian  and  Slovenic  Cause.  lovan  Raic,  the  Orthodox 
Archimandrite,  wrote  a  history  of  the  Serbo-Croats  in  the  Serbo- 
Crotian  tongue.  Sundicic,  an  Orthodox  priest  wa-s  read  by  aK 
Jugoslavs  in  preference  to  many  finer  authors  only  because  he, 
too,  was  ispired  by  the  idea  of  national  union,  and  because  he 
went  so  far  in  his  identification  of  Serbs  and  Croats,  that  he 
had  one  of  his  books  printed  in  Roman  and  Cyrillic  characters 
side  ^y  side,  and  some  others  in  Roman  characters  only,  and  this, 
although  he  was  an  Orthodox  priest.  Valentin  Vodnik,  a  Slovene 
Catholic  monk  of  Napoleon's  time,  was  also  inspired  by  the  idea 
of  a  union  of  all  Jugoslav  peoples  in  one  state,  which  was  to  be 
called  Illvria,  and  Napoleon  also  had  this  idea.  In  1811  Vodnik 
wrote  his  Hymn  to  "Illyria  Resurrected",  by  which  he  hoped  to 
influence  Napoleon  to  create  the  Jugoslav  State. 


6  — 


TWO  CHURCHES  IN  ONE  NATION 


'Napoleon  said:  Arise,  Illyria. . ." 

This  poor  Slovene  monk  had  to  pay  dearly  for  his  ideals. 
Cruelly  persecuted  by  the  Austrian  authorities,  and  cast  from 
ont.  prison  into  another,  he  finally  died  in  1819.  And  when  the 
Croat,  L  idevit  Gaj,  in  the  forties  of  last  century,  arose  with  his 
"Illyrian"  —  this  was  only  another  name  for  the  Jugoslav  ideals 
of  to-day  —  he  was  enthusiastically  welcomed  and  supported  by 
the  Catholic  theologians  of  the  seminary  in  Zagreb  who  thence- 
forth became  the  most  active  champions  of  his  ideals. 

During  the  first  forty  years  of  the  19th  century  the  idea  of 
a  united  Jugoslavia  so  far  materialized  that  the  Orthodox  Patri- 
arch of  Karlovtzi  could  instal  lellacic,  the  celebrated  Ban  of 
Croatia,  whith  the  unanimous  approval  of  all  the  Croatian 
Catholic  clergy. 

The  following  is  a  still  more  striking  example  of  patriotism 
before  clericalism.  In  1848  the  Catholic  clergy  of  the  diocese  of 
Zagreb  met  in  conference,  and  passed  a  resolution  including  the 
following  provisions : 

1)  The  union  of  Serbs  and  Croats. 

2)  Toleration  of  creeds. 

3)  The  use  of  the  Old  Slav  tongue  in  Divine  service  in  the 
Jugo-p'av  Catholic  Church. 

ihe  Catholic  priest  Racki,  one  of  the  most  eminent  Jugoslav 
historians,  was  a  great  champion  of  these  ideas  of  reunion,  and 
endeavoured  to  introduce  the  Cyrillitza  (Cyrillic  alphabet)  among 
the  Croatians. 

The  reaction  of  1849  brought  with  it  a  brutal  suppression 
of  all  national  agitation  an  aspiration  in  Austria-Hungary. 
Austria  artificially  cre<)ted  different  nationalities  in  her  provinc- 
es, and  called  into  existence  the  Dalmatians,  Croatians,  Slavon- 
ians, Tstdans,  Camiolians,  etc.,  as  separate  nationalities,  even 
as  —  after  the  occupation  of  Bosnia  —  the  new  nationality  of 
the  "Bosnians"  immediately  arose  in  the  world. 

But  the  Austrian  terror  only  succeeded  in  awakening  the 
Jugoslav  national  consciousness  in  all  these  provinces,  which  are 


—  7  — 


ZIVA    CRKVA 


inhabited  by  one  nation,  homogeneous  as  the  inhabitants  of 
Northern  and  Southern  France.  And  thus  the  Austria  plan  to 
convert  geographical  conceptions  into  historical,  national  and 
religious  conceptions,  was  frustrated.  This  was  very  clearly 
shown  after  the  first  Austrian  defeat.  One  result  of  the  battle 
of  Solferino  was  the  revival  of  the  old  agitation.  The  enlightened 
Prince  Michael,  who  at  this  time  ascended  the  Serbian  throne, 
was  not  only  an  enthusiast  for  Jugoslav  ideals,  but  strove  actively 
towards  their  realization.  At  his  own  expense  he  sent  many 
Slovence,  Croats  and  Bulgarians  to  college  for  their  education, 
thus  preparing  an  entire  generation  for  the  reahzation  of  his 
plans,  —  even  the  Bulgarians;  for  they,  too,  as  represented  by 
the  best  of  their  nation  were  at  one  time  enthusiasts  for  the 
Jugoslav  cause. 

In  Slovenia  and  Camiola  the  Catholic  clergy  were  the  strong- 
est representatives  and  champions  of  the  same  cause. 

Among  th^m  Antun  Ashkerz  and  Dum  Simon  Gregorcic 
undoubtedly  distinguished  themselves  above  all  others.  Both 
were  poets ;  the  former  was  the  greatest  Slovene  composer  of  epic 
and  ballad  poetry.  "My  muse  is  a  Spartan"  he  said,  "In  one  hand 
she  holds  the  sword,  and  in  the  other  a  torch".  Simon  Gregorcic 
was  the  greatest  lyrical  poet  of  his  nation,  His  most  beautiful 
poems  are  patriotic  songs.  In  contrast  to  the  war-like  Ashkerz 
he  was  a  gentle-souled  optimist,  a  pure  anima  Candida. 

IV 

NJEGOS  AND  STROSSMAYER 

But  above  all  the  divines  of  Southern  Slavdom  the  Orthodox 
Pj-ince-Hishop  of  Montenegro,  Petar  XL,  Niegos,  and  Strossmayer, 
the  Catholic  Bishop  of  Djakovo,  tower  as  the  mightiest  champions 
of  National  union. 

In  all  his  writings  Niegos  gave  eloquent  expression  to  his 
grief  and  bitter  distress  that  religious  tradition  could  break  up 
a  nation  into  separate  fragments,  each  sick  and  unhappy  without 
the  other.    In  short,  the  sum  of  his  experience  is  this : 

—  8  — 


TWO  CHURCHES  IN  ONE  NATION 


"Be  a  Serb  and  believe  what  you  believe". 
Further  on  he  says: 

'■'Do  not  ask  how  a  man  crosses  himself, 

But  whose  the  blood  that  warms  his  heart,  

And  whose  the  milk  that  nourished  him". 

Niegos  did  not  speak  thus  from  a  lack  of  reverence,  but  rather 
because  of  his  heartfelt  piety.  He  conceived  religion  as  a  force 
for  unifying,  not  for  disuniting,  and  it  grieved  him  to  see  in 
his  country  every-where  the  destructive  results  of  religious 
discord.  To-day  the  illustrious  Bishop  of  Montenegro  is  equally 
beloved  by  Serbs,  Croats  and  Slovenes.  This  was  made  evident 
in  Zagreb  on  the  1st  of  March,  1914,  on  the  occasion  of  the  centen- 
ary of  his  birth.  On  that  day  Zagreb  was  gay  with  Serbian  flags, 
at  a  solemn  gathering  lectures  about  Niegos  were  delivered  by  a 
Slovene,  a  Croat,  and  a  Serb,  successively.  Catholics  and  Ortho- 
dox alike  jointly  celebrated  their  national  hero.  The  Austrian 
authorities  were  plunged  in  consternation  by  this  unexi)ected 
manifestation  of  brotherly  solidarity  between  the  very  elements 
among  whom  they  were  unceasingly  endeavouring  to  promote 
discord. 

Bishop  Strossmayer  is  probably  better  known  to  the  West- 
em  world  than  Bishop  Niegos.  He  was  that  great  Bishop  who 
so  distinguished  hitmself  as  a  Catholic  divine  and  orator  at  the 
Vatican  Council  in  1870.  Equally  great  in  his  broad  religious 
views,  and  his  national  ideals,  Strossmayer  was  in  very  truth  a 
God-sent  blessing  to  his  people.  A  son  of  the  people,  he  lived  and 
worked  for  hi^  people.  Everything  great  that  Croatia  to-day 
possesses  in  the  way  of  national  and  cultural  wealth,  is  bound 
up  Avith  the  name  of  Strossmayer;  everything  was  created,  re- 
vived, or  amended  by  him. 

But  he  was  not  unaided  in  his  efforts  and  his  ideals.  He 
had  the  unfailing  support  of  the  entire  Catholic  clergy  of  Croatia 
at  his  back;  —  as  the  fiery  defender  of  true  Catholicism  in 
Rome,  —  as  leader  of  the  propaganda  of  liberation  for  all  Jugo- 
slav lands  from  the  Austrian  yoke,  and  the  union  with  Serbia 


—  9  — 


2  I  V  A    C  R  K  V  A 

under  Prince  Michael,  —  as  the  founder  of  the  Jugoslav  Academy 
an  Zagi-eb,  —  oi  as  the  tireless  builder-up,  stone  by  stone,  of 
the  material  welfare  of  the  Croatian  people.  He  was  in  constant 
correspondence  with  Prince  Michael,  with  Michael,  Metropolitan 
of  Bel/vaae,  and  with  Gladstone.  His  political  ideas  were  readily 
acccpt(^d  by  the  Serbian  Prince,  and  his  love  of  peace  and  rehgious 
tolorativ^n  earned  him  the  friendship  of  the  Orthodox  Metropo- 
litan. His  broad-minded  culture  and  sincere  sorrow  for  his  people 
deeply  touched  Gladstone  who,  as  is  well  known,  did  his  utmost 
to  help  the  cause  of  eJugoslav  freedom. 

Strossmayer's  generation  and  that  which  succeeded  him, 
whether  clergy  or  laity,  fully  appreciated  his  teaching.  Nor  did 
the  Austrian  goveniment  fail  to  understand  it,  and  they  strove 
by  every  means  in  their  powei  to  uproot  or  to  destroy  the  seed 
sown  by  the  Bishop  of  Djakovo.  But  this  seed  genninated  and 
sprang  up  in  the  field,  tall  and  green,  till  both  Germans  and 
Magyars  contemplated  this  dangerous  crop  with  rage  and  envy. 
They  inaugurated  new  terrors,  new  tortures,  new  inhumanities, 
new  calumnies.  Serbia  was  represented  as  the  black  plague-spot 
of  the  earth.  But  these  calumnies  were  not  well  received  by  the 
Austrian  Slavs.  Then,  —  especially  since  1894,  —  Austria  began 
iher  clerical  propaganda;  but  this  also  failed  to  influence  the 
souls  of  the  Croats  and  Slovenes.  The  Serbo-Croatian  tongue  was 
offkially  suppressed  and  the  Magyar  language  forcibly  introl 
duced  in  :ts  place;  but  this  only  roused  such  vehement  opposition, 
that  even  those  who  h'\d  learnt  Magyar  from  interest  or  curiosity, 
ceased  to  use  it.  Then  the  Government  endeavoured  to  influence 
the  elections  in  favor  of  the  Monarchy  by  new  political  combi- 
nations, r.  e.  by  an  arbitrary  re-distribution  of  the  electoral  dis- 
tricts ;  but  so  far  from  being  successful,  this  measure  only  resulted 
in  a  coalition  between  Serbs  and  Croats,  who,  under  the  influence 
of  Austrian  intrigue,  had  hitherto  always  voted  separately.  This 
Coalition  has  in  fact  during  recent  years  controlled  the  govern- 
ment of  Croatia. 

Stn-ssmayer  died  in  1905,  but  his  physical  death  only  meant 

—  10  — 


TWO  CHURCHES  IN  ONE  NATION 


the  resurrection  of  his  ideals,  Austria-Hungary  rejoiced  over 
his  death,  but  her  joy  was  short  hved.  In  1908  Austria  burdened 
her  conscience  with  a  further  crime,  —  the  annexation  -of  Bosnia. 
Instantly  it  became  evident  that  Strossmayer  still  lived,  indeed 
that  he  was  more  than  ever  alive.  For  the  annexation  of  Bosnia 
was  a  blow  that  fell  equally  upon  Zagreb,  Ljubljana  (Laibach), 
Trieste,  and  all  Dalmatia  no  less  than  upon  Serbia  and  Monte- 
negro. The  harvest  that  Strossmayer  and  Niegos  had  sown,  was 
now  i-ipe.  Austria  saw  with  sorrow"  that  her  prisons  were  too 
small  to  contain  an  entire  nation;  but  she  herself  was  a  dark 
dungeon  for  Jugoslavs,  irrespective  of  creeds,  for  at  this  juncture 
she  di'^covered  that  she  could  reckon  as  little  on  the  Catholic  cler- 
gy as  the  Orthodox. 

Several  Bishops  sided  with  their  clergy  hi  the  national 
struggle.  Thus  Ucellini,  the  Catholic  Bishop  of  Kotor  (Cattaro) 
translated  the  "Divi.ia  Commedia"  and  dedicated  his  translation 
to  the  Serbo-Croat  nation,  and  because  of  his  wilsh  to  introduce 
the  r  lav  tongue  into  the  liturgy  Bishop  Dvomik  had  to  fly  from 
his  native  town  of  Zadar  in  Dalmatia  to  Constantinople,  where 
he  died. 

The  Cathojic  clergy  of  Dalmatia  especially  distinguished 
themselves  in  this  struggle  agai'nst  Austria,  and  in  Zadar,  where 
Bishop  Dvcraik  had  lived  and  worked,  another  priest,  Dum  Bian- 
chini  preached  Nationalism  with  religious  fervour. 


THEN  CAME  THE  BALILVN  WARS! 

\ 
Then  came  the  Balkan  wars.  From  these  wars  Serbia  three; 
times  emerged  victorious,  —  against  the  Turks,  against  the  Bul- 
garians, and  against  the  Arnauts.  In  Austria  the  Jugoslavs 
looked  upon  Serbia's  war  as  their  war,  and  felt  the  Serbian  vic- 
tories as  their  own.  Although  themselves  in  servitude,  they 
nevertheless  contributed  to  these  victories.  Numerous  doctors, 
nurses,  volunteeis,  medical  stores  and  money  were  sent  by  the  one 

—  11    — 


2IVA    CRKVA 

brothf-r-naticn  to  the  other,  and  Austria  found  herself  compelled 
to  close  hei  Serbian  frontier  by  a  cordon  of  soldiers.  But  all  in 
vain!  Hearts  were  full  to  overflowing,  and  love  waxed  stronger 
than  ever.  Then  came  the  World-War.  All  ties  between  Austria 
and  her  Slav  subjects  were  broken.  Austria's  declaration  of  war 
to  Serbia  was  in  many  respects  also  a  declaration  of  war  to  the 
Jugoslavs  in  Austria.  Arrests,  wholesale  hangings,  and  shootings 
became  the  order  of  the  day.  All  Orthodox  and  Catholic  Bishops 
were  placed  under  police  supervision.  Nikodim  Milas,  Orthodox 
Bishop  in  Dubrovnik  (Ragusa)  suffered  such  gross  ill-usage  at 
the  hands  of  the  police,  that  he  died  within  a  few  days. 

In  Dalmatia,  Croatia,  Istria  and  Carniola  the  prisons  were 
filled  to  overflowing  -wath  Catholic  priests.  So  far  as  voices  from 
Dalmatia  have  been  able  to  reach  us,  we  learn  that  Ivo  Separovic, 
Ante  Antic.  Mate  Skarica  and  Ivo  Lutic  have  been  imprisoned  in 
Dalmatia,  and  in  Istria  the  following  priests  who  are  also  national 
delegates:  Luka  Kirac,  Anton  Andreicic,  Sime  Cervar,  the 
canons :  Saiitic,  Zavladal,  Mandic  and  Matic,  and  two  Franciscans ; 
^n  Carniola  fifteen  priests  of  the  clerical  party.  About  ten 
of  the  leading  men  of  the  nation,  —  journalists,  artists  and 
writers  —  both  Cathclk  and  Orthodox,  fled  to  Serbia, 
England,  Russia  and  America.  They  fled  but  to  repeat  the 
smothered  cry  of  ten  thousands  of  their  brothers  in  Hapsburg 
prisons.  And  this  cry  is  all  the  more  terrilble  because  it  rings 
through  the  Catacombs  and  the  Circus  Romanus  nineteen  cent- 
uries ago.  It  is  the  cry  of  the  priests  of  Christ,  who  preached 
the  Way  of  Truth  before  God  and  man,  the  despairing  cry  of  the 
martyrs  of  the  nation,  who  are  giving  their  life  for  the  salvation 
of  the  people ;  the  cry  of  the  shepherd  whose  flock  is  being  harried 
by  the  wolf,  the  cry  of  noble  and  enlightened  men  who  open 
their  eyes  m  vain  to  behold  the  light,  for  around  them  is  only 
darkness ;  they  open  their  lips,  they  stretch  forth  their  trembling 
hands,  seeking  the  cheerful  warmth  of  the  fire,  only  to  find 
instejid  the  cold  stones  and  mildew-covered  walls  of  a  dungeon; 
they  cry  for  help,  but  their  cry  falls  dead  upon  thick  stone  walls, 

—  12  — 


TWO  CHURCHES  IN  ONE  NATION 


and  returns  like  an  echo  into  their  hearts.    But,  as  Niegos  says : 
"From  their  blood  will  spring  flowers 
"For  some  far-off  generation". 

VI 
LOVE  AS  UNIFYING  MIGHT 

The  great  fact,  to  which  I  have  alluded  at  the  beginning  of 
this  ai-ticle,  is  the  fact  of  the  unifying  influence  of  religion  in 
the  history  of  Jugo-slr.vdom  during  the  past  century,  and  especial- 
/ly  during  the  tragic  happenings  of  the  present  war.  Orthodox 
and  Catholics  found  themselves  united  in  the  self  —  same  practic- 
al work  —  in  this  case  in  one  and  the  same  idealistic  struggle 
for  nationality  and  in  common  suffering.  In  this  common  struggle 
ar  d  suffering  they  have  realized  that  they  are  brothers,  and  were 
amazed  to  think  that  reli|gion  could  even  for  one  moment  divide 
them.  They  were  amazed  to  think  that  such  abstract  details  lof 
religion,  like  the  dogma  of  the  fillioque  could  divide  them,  broth- 
ers, who  shared  so  much  common  ground  in  their  beliefs,  —  the 
belief  i(n  the  Trinity,  belief  in  the  Saviour,  in  Immortality,  in 
Righteousness,  in  one  Apostolic  Church,  in  the  Sermon  on  the 
Mount,  in  the  beauty  of  self-sacrifice  for  others,  and  in  suffering 
for  what  is  good  and  ideal. 

It  may  be  objected  that  this  may  be  so  in  the  day  of  trouble, 
but  that  all  may  be  different  to-morrow,  with  the  return  of  peace. 
For  even  in  the  early  days  of  Christianity  there  was  no  division 
in  the  €hurch  because  of  the  common  suffering,  but  as  soon  as 
persecution  ceased,  the  spirit  of  sectarianism  crept  into  the  world. 

On  this  point  I  venture  to  say  that  history  will  not  repeat 
itself;  what  has  been,  will  never  be  again.  No  sacrifice  of  blood 
and  human  life  has  ever  been  made  without  causing  a  great 
stride  in  histoiy,  and  a  great  change  in  human  life.  The  present 
world-war,  whik^h  is  calling  for  unprecedented  sacrifices  in  blood 
and  life,  must  mean  a  correspondingly  great  stride,  (forward,  let 
usi  hope)  for  humanity,  and  fundamentally  change  the  aspects 
of  history. 

—  13  — 


2^V  A    CRKVA 

The  nations  w"ill  be  drawTi  more  closely  together,  with  or 
%\nthout  the  approval  of  the  churches.  But  the  Churches,  too, 
should  be  dra\^Ti  together,  and  ultimately  be  united.  They  will 
be  united  on  those  great  matters,  which  they  all  have  in  common- 
evangelical,  theological,  and  in  the  forms  of  Divine  semces.  The 
Churches,  too,  must  learn  their  lesson  from  this  war.  They  must 
be  careful  always  to  unite  in  practical  work,  which  needs  the 
finspiration  of  the  Christian  spirit  and  Christian  love.  For  if 
the  Catholic,  English  and  Presbyterian  Churches  in  Great  Britain, 
the  Catholic  and  Protestant  Churches  in  Germany,  and  the 
Ortho^lox  Churches  in  Southern  Slavdom  have  in  war-time  found 
one  another  in  the  self-same  charitable  work  and  the  same 
patriotic  enthusiasm,  surely  they  can  be  united  in  peace-time  in 
the  sublime  work  of  human  civilization. 

You  will  object  that  there  are  differences.  And  I  reply: 
"Certainly  there  are  differences;  but  the  indvidual  differences 
between  myself  and  my  neighbours  are  much  greater  than  those 
between  the  Christian  Churches,  yet  nevertheless  my  neighbour 
and  I  meet  in  tlie  same  road,  in  the  same  work,  and  at  the  same 
table,  and  we  live  together  under  the  same  laws;  we  both  rebel 
against  the  same  evil,  and  we  both  defend  the  same  good".  You 
will  repeat,  that  there  are  differences.  And  again  I  reply:  "As 
these  differences  could  be  forgotten  in  war-time,  they  can  also 
be  forgotten  in  peace-time". 

At  least  this  must  be  the  case  vdth  us  Jugoslavs.  During 
the  ]ast  centurier.  we  have  passed  through  a  repetition  of  the 
sufferings  of  the  early  Christians.  Common  stniggle  and  common 
suffering  have  taught  us  to  live  under  the  Christian  spirit,  which 
animates  both  Orthodox  and  Catholic  faiths.  The  State  for  which 
Serbia  is  now  fighting  will  include  many  Orthodox  and  Catholic 
members.  The  i>eople  of  this  State  who  have  learnt,  not  from 
theories,  but  from  life  and  suffering,  will  always  know  how  to 
respect  the  faith  of  theitr  neighbours  in  so  far  it  differs  from 
their  own,  and  to  love  it  in  so  far  as  it  coincides  with  theirs.  And 
as  the  similarities  between  the  Orthodox  and  Catholic  faiths  are 
iin  a  proportion  of  90%,  there  will  be  90%  of  reasons  for  mutual 

—  14  — 


TWO  CHURCHES  IN  ONE  NATION 


llove  inspirtd  by  faith,  and  only  10%  scope  for  mutual  tolerance 
as  regards  their  "individual"  differences.  The  future  Jugoslav 
State  win  contain  about  fiifty  dioceses,  half  of  them  Catholic,  and 
the  other  Orthodox.  All  the  inhabitants  of  all  these  dioceses  are 
at  tnis  moment  praying  that  Serbia  and  her  Allies  may  be 
victorious,  even  as  the  Bishop  of  London  and  Cardinal  Bourne 
are  praying.  The  people  who  were  united  in  bondage,  will 
certainly  not  be  divided  in  freedom,  otherwise  freedom  would  not 
be  better  than  bondage,  but  rather  worse.  The  people,  who 
learnt  the  lesson  of  love  in  bondage,  will  surely  continue  in  love 
ir  freedom,  otherwise  freedom  would  merely  mean  a  worse  tempta- 
tion for  them.  The  people  who  learnt  tolerance  in  bondage,  will 
not  forget  to  be  tolerant  in  freedom.  Therefore  the  Serbian 
government  was  merely  the  mouthpiece  of  the  Serbian  people 
when  directly  after  the  Balkan  wars  it  proceeded  to  place  Serbia's 
relations  wiith  the  Catholic  Church  on  a  proper  footing,  because 
with  the  extension  of  Serbia  the  number  of  her  Catholic  in- 
habitants would  likewise  increase.  In  the  midst  of  the  war,  the 
Skuptchina  in  Nish  discussed  the  project  of  the  Concordate  with 
the  Holy  See  and  accepted  it.  It  is  known  in  the  Vatican  and 
elsewhere  v/ith  how  m.uch  sincerity  and  broad-minded  good-will 
the  Serbians  strove  to  meet  the  needs  and  wishes  of  Catholics 
living  withii^  the  borders  of  Serbia.  In  the  future  every  Serbian 
democratic  government  will  be  equally  silncere  and  broad-minded 
in  religious  matters;  and  it  behoves  the  Orthodox  and  Catholic 
clergy  to  be  unanimous  in  upraising  their  people  in  cultural 
respects,  even  as  during  the  dark  centuries  of  slavery  they  were 
active  in  awakening  the  national  consciousness  and  now  are 
unanimous  in  suffering  with  their  flocks  and  in  the  struggle  for 
righteous  ideals  of  freedom  and  unity. 

All  we  Jugoslavs  are  sure  that  there  will  be  harmony  and 
unanimity  between  the  two  priesthoods,  the  two  confessions,  and 
the  two  Churches  in  the  future  Serbian  State.  It  is  very  difficult 
for  us  to  prove  this  beforehand.  Whatever  may  now  be  said  or 
written,  people  will  reserve  the  right  to  believe  nothing  untill 

—  15  — 


ZlVA    CRKVA 


they  see  it,  just  as  they  reserved  their  right  to  believe  in  Serbia's 
physical  strength  until  it  could  no  longer  be  denied.  But  we  have 
this  conviction,  because  we  know  ourselves.  Our  national  watch- 
word after  this  war  will  be : 

"Love  first,  and  then  logic". 
This  watch\yorJ  should  be  the  watchword  for  all  the  Christian 
Churches,  for  it  is  true  to  the  Gospel,  to  which  all  the  world,  — 
now  plunged  int^i  a  terrible  war  because  of  logic  without  love,  — 
must  eventually  return.  The  fences  set  up  between  the  Churches 
are  incredibly  petty.  But  it  had  to  be  that  for  a  thousand  years 
men  lived  isolated  and  secluded  within  these  fences,  and  for  a 
thousand  years  there  was  isolated  labour  and  development,  strife 
and  discord,  passionate  reproach  and  logical  recrimination,  much 
blood  and  many  tears,  the  sin  of  Cain,  and  the  ever-repeated 
Crucifixion  of  Christ,  and  in  the  end  the  European  War  became 
necessary.  All  this  had  to  be,  so  that  Christian  humanity  might 
ripen  and  grow,  and  outgrow  these  petty  fences,  and  that  each 
man  might  behold  his  neighbour  over  the  fence,  that  he  might 
feel  his  heart,  hear  his  lamentations  and  might  extend  a  helping 
hand  over  the  fence  and  clasp  him  in  a  brother's  embrace.  All 
this  was  necessary  through  thousands  of  years,  till  Christian  men 
became  convinced  that  the  distance  between  man  and  his  brother 
is  not  to  be  measured  by  miles,  as  he  had  imagined,  but  by  inches! 
All  this  had  to  be  so  that  all  Christian  Churches,  and  all  humanity 
mighl  repeat  with  conviction: 

"Love  first,  and  then  Logic!" 


